Envelope



Jan. 7, 1936. G, H; ENN JR 2,026,837

ENVELOPE Filed-Oct. 11, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Geoye ZEIZIZ QJFT Patented Jan. 7, 1936 UNITED STATES.

2,026,837 ENVEIDPE 11. Kennedy, In, Worcester, Mala, as-

ii'gnor to United States Envelope Company, Springfield, Mass, a corporation of Application October 11, 1933, Serial mosaics 6 Claims. (on. 22940) The present invention relates to envelopes, and. has for its'object to provide an improved envelope ofthe type which does not require moistening of its seal flap in order to" effectively seal it, as is necessary with ordinary envelopes.

In United States Letters Patent No. 1,768,836 issued July 1, 1930, there is shown and described an envelope whichdoes not require moistening in order to seal it, this patented envelope having corresponding areas of its seal flap and. rear wall coated with an adhesive which'sticks upon contact with itself, but not with uncoated areas. Consequently, when the gummed or coated area of the flap is folded over into registering rela- 'tion with the gummed or coated wall area and pressure applied to the overlying areas, the

envelopeis sealed. However, because of the tendency of' the gummed or coated areas to adhere to each other. as when packing or otherwise handling the envelope prior to sealing, it is neces-- sary to provide separate means for preventing inadvertent adhesion, such as strips of paper between the gummed or coated surfaces, as disclosed in the aforementioned patent, which expedient detracts materially from the commercial value of such envelopes.

According to the present invention, there is provided an envelope of the above indicated character, in which the gummed or coated areas are r effectively prevented from inadvertently coming 7 into contact prior to the actual sealing of the envelope. The envelope is. also constructed so that it can be readily manufactured by existing envelope making machines, without any special i precautions being taken in packing the completed envelopes. The above and other advantageous features of the invention will hereinafter more fully appear from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in

v which:

Fig. 1 is a rear view of an envelope with adhesive applied thereto in accordance with the invention.

' Fig. 2 illustrates folding of the envelope of Fig. 1 preparatory to packing, without registration of the gummed or coated areas. d Fig. 3 shows the envelope of Fig. 1 in a sealed condition. I

' Fig. 4 is a rear view of-a modified form of envelope with adhesive applied thereto in accord-.

ance with the invention.

Fig. 5 illustrates folding of the envelope of Fig. 4 preparatory to packing, without registration of 5 the gummed or coated areas.

Russuau:

Fig. 6 shows the envelope of Fig. 4 in a sealed condition.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures.

- Referring first to 1, the envelope u 6' for the purpose of embodyin the invention is shown as being of usual form with a front wall I, seal flap 2 and a rear wall 3 constituted by side and bottom flaps folded over andadhesively secured together in overlying relation. with the 10 seal flap-[extended as shown, correspondingly shaped bands of gumming or coating, 4 and Ii are applied to the seal flap 2 and rear wall 3 respectively, it being noted that the gumming-or. coating. 5 is farther removed from the score line 1 6 between the flap 2 and the front wall I than is the gumming or l; -'Ihe gumming or coating 4 and i is of such a character that one gummed or coated area will adhere to the other gummed or coated areawhen pressed in overlying relation, while neither gummed or coated area will adhere of itself to the material of which the envelope is made. Preferably the gumming' or coating 4 and i is applied in the form of a rub-, ber solution, such as natural or compounded 2 latex, or rubber cement, the invention also contemplating the use of other adhesives possessing the same general characteristics as described above. a

When the seal flap 2 is folded along the score line- 6 preparatory to packing, as shown in Fig. 2, it is evident that the gumming or coating 4 on the folded flap 2 will be entirely' concealed and cannot posibly register with the gumming or coating 5 on the rear envelope wall 3 due to the unequal displacement of the gummed or coated areas with respect to score line 6. Con sequently, the seal flaps, of envelopes constructed as shown in Fig. 1 may be folded and the enveiopes packed by existing envelope folding 'and 40 packing machinery, without. any possibility of r the gummed or coated areas inadvertently coming into contact with each other to cause premature sealing of the envelopes.

Referring again to Fig." 1, an to be noted that. the side flaps constituting. a portion of the rear wall 3 do not extend upwardly to the score line 6 of the seal flap 2,-butonly to a secondary sco're line] provided in' the .frontwall l and extending parallel to the score line i. When it is desired to use the envelope, the previously folded flap 2 is turned back with its gummed or coated edge exposed, so that after nsertion of the closure inthe envelope, it can-besealed by fold- .ing down the seal flap 2 along the secondary score line i, as shown in Fig. 3. This brings the gumming or coating t and 5 into exact registration, so that the sealing is completed by merely exerting pressure on the overlying gummed or coated areas. The displacement between the score lines 6 and i, as well as the difference in the location of the gumming or coating 6 and 5 with reference to score line 6 are shown on a somewhat exaggerated scale in Fig. 1, it having been found that a very slight displacement between the score lines will be suflicient to prevent overlapping of the gumming or coating when the envelope is first folded for packing, as shown in Fig. 2. This is due to the fact that when the seal flap 2 is finally folded for sealing as shown in Fig. 3, it is shifted, with reference to the rear wall 3, twice the distance between the score lines 6' and T.

When the envelope has been closed by exerting pressure on the overlying gummed or coated areas, the adhesion between the gummed or coated areas is such that the envelope cannot be surreptitiously opened, as by steaming, due to the fact that the rubber solution is waterproof. Furthermore, any attempt to separate the flap 2 from the rear wall 3 by pulling will inevitably result in separating the gumming or coating from one or the other of the paper surfaces, or in tearing of the paper itself, either of which results prevents the envelope from being resealed.

Referring now to Figs. 4 to 6 inclusive, there is shown a modified form of envelope in which the seal flap 2" is provided with a secondary score line 8 spaced from the score line 8' between the seal flap and the rear wall 3, the seal flap 2' and the rear wall 3' being provided with gumming or coating 4' and 5' located symmetrically with respect to the score line 8'. When the seal flap 2' is folded along the score line 8 preparatory to packing, as shown in Fig. 5, it is evident that the gumming or coating 4' on the folded flap 2' will be concealed and cannot register with the gumming or coating 5 on the rear wall 3', due

to the unequal displacement of the gummed or; coated areas with respect to score line 8. Consequently, envelopes with their seal flaps initially folded as shown in Fig. 5, can be packed in-th e; usual manner without any possibility of the gummed o'r coated areas inadvertently coming into contact with each other to cause premature sealing of the envelopes.

When it is desired to use the envelope, the flap 2' is turned back with its gummed or coated edge exposed as shown in Fig. 1, so that.after insertion of the closure in the envelope, it can be sealed by folding down the seal flap 2' along the score line 6', as shown in Fig. 6. This brings the gumming or coating s and 5' into exact registration, so that the sealing is completed by merely exerting pressure on the overlying gummed o'r coated areas. The displacement between the score lines t and 8 is substantially the same as the displacement between score lines s and i of Fig. 1, and is therefore shown on a somewhat exaggerated scale, it being evident 1-1;,

a very slight displacement between the score lines will be'suiilcient to prevent overlapping of the gumming or coating when the envelope is first folded for pac a: as shown in Fig. 5.

a. aosassv From the foregoing, it is apparent that by the present invention there is provided an envelope which does not require any moistening in order to seal it, the envelope being so constructed that the gummed or coated areas which are adapted to adhere when engaged with each other are maintained out of engagement, thus permitting the envelopes to be packed in the usual manner without possibility of inadvertent adhesion between the gumming or coating on the seal flaps and the rear walls of the envelopes.

I claim,

1. An envelope having corresponding areas of its seal flap and rear wall gummed or coated with an adhesive of a type adapted to adhere to itself upon the application of pressure alone, said envelope having spaced lines of folding, one to permit folding of the seal flap without registration of the gummed or coated areas and the other to bring said gummed or coated areas into register.

2. An envelope having corresponding areas of its seal flap and rear wall gummed or coated with an adhesive of a type adapted to adhere to itself upon the application of pressure alone, sai'd envelope having spaced score lines for folding said seallflap either with said gummed or coated areas offset for packing, or with said gummed or coated areas in register for sealing.

3. An envelope having corresponding areas of its seal flap and rear wall gummed or coated with an adhesive of a type adapted to adhere to itself upon the application of pressure alone, said envelope providing spaced score lines between the seal flap and front wall to permit said seal flap to be folded over with or without registration of said gummed or coated areas.

4. An envelope having corresponding areas of its seal flap and rear wall gummed or coated with an adhesive having the property of adhering to itself upon contact without adhering to the envelope material, said envelope having spaced lines of folding, one to permit folding down of the seal flap withoutregistration of the gummed or coated areas, and the other to bring said gummed or coated areas into register for sealing of the envelope by the application of pressure alone.

5.1m envelope or" the like of the classdescribed, whose body portion and closure portion have complemental-areas coated, for dry sealing purposes, with adhesives adapted to adhere to themselves upon non' moistened contact, there being a line of fold for said'closure portion which obtains registration of said areas, and another line of fold, oflset outwardly of said first line, on which said closure portion is foldable to keep said areas out of registration.

6. An envelope or the like of the class described, whose body portion and closure portion have complemental areas coated, for dry sealing purposes, with adhesives adapted to adhere to themselves upon non-moistened contact, there being a line of fold for said closure portion which obtains registration of said areas, and, another line of fold, offset inwardly of said first line, on which said closure portion is foldable to keep said areas out of registration.

GEORGE E. am 1 

